Chapter 242: Utter Domination

“What’s so impossible about it?”

Lu Qing grinned at the stunned Black Robe Figure.

With a flick of his wrist, he casually tossed his longbow onto a nearby stall. Then, reaching into his robe, he pulled out a pair of boxing gloves—crafted from tough oxhide, their knuckles reinforced with steel plates inscribed with Qian Lian-level runes. He’d made them while forging arrowheads, a side project he never thought would come in handy.

“Still, your staff technique has some merit. I actually felt a bit of resistance when I blocked your strike,” Lu Qing said, slipping the gloves on. Even with the protective talisman power from his Brow Qi Cavity shielding him, his fist still ached. Now, with the gloves on, he flexed his wrists and glanced forward, a satisfied smirk playing on his lips.

“But that’s perfect. I’ve recently understood some new insights—needed someone to test them on. I was worried you’d be weakened, barely able to withstand a few punches. Now I see you’re holding up better than I expected. Just right for a sparring partner.”

He sank slightly into a stance, slowly unfolding his fists. A faint smile touched his lips as he faced the Black Robe Figure.

“Old man, I hope you can last a bit longer. If you’re dead after just a few hits, that’d be terribly dull.”

“Arrogant brat!”

The Black Robe Figure roared in fury at Lu Qing’s insolence.

True, he was shaken by the sheer power the youth had displayed. But in their clash, he’d sensed it—Lu Qing hadn’t yet cultivated Xian Tian Qi. He was still only a Hou Tian Jing cultivator. To be so thoroughly humiliated by a lesser-ranked warrior? The insult burned.

Enraged, he swung his staff in a blinding flurry, conjuring a storm of shadowy, iron-hard images that rained down like a hurricane upon Lu Qing. This time, he poured everything into it—full power, burning Xian Tian Qi, and unleashing an Explosive Secret Technique. He wasn’t trying to torture. He wanted to crush Lu Qing into pulp in a single blow.

“Now that’s what I call a proper challenge!”

Lu Qing didn’t flinch. A fire ignited in his eyes.

With a subtle thought, a golden glow pulsed within his Brow Qi Cavity. At the same time, the Soil Spirit Pearl began to rotate slowly.

A faint, radiant golden aura bloomed across his skin.

Unfathomable strength surged through him.

With a thunderous step, Lu Qing charged forward. The ground cracked beneath his feet. His right fist—previously tucked at his waist—vanished, then erupted like a piston into the heart of the storm of staff shadows.

ROAR!

A tiger’s roar erupted from him, echoing across the entire town, shaking every soul in its path.

The sheer force of the punch compressed the air before him into a burst of white mist. A shockwave exploded outward, tearing through the web of staff illusions.

BOOM!

The collision was catastrophic.

On one side: countless solid, Xian Tian Qi-formed staff images, forged from spiritual energy.

On the other: a raw, flesh-and-blood punch, forcibly warping the atmosphere into a devastating shockwave.

Different in essence, but equal in destructive might.

Where they met, a storm of annihilating force erupted—so violent it shattered buildings on both sides of the street.

CLANG!

In the chaos, Lu Qing’s divine sense pinpointed the Black Robe Figure’s hidden divine weapon—the staff—amidst the storm of illusions. With a single, precise strike, he drove his fist straight into it.

The force was apocalyptic. The divine staff bent violently, its core strained beyond endurance.

The Black Robe Figure couldn’t hold on. His body jolted violently, launched backward through the air. The staff tore free from his grip, piercing through multiple houses before vanishing into the distance.

But he didn’t care. Not now.

Lu Qing didn’t let up.

With another step, he shattered the ground beneath him, closing the distance in an instant. He was already in front of the falling man.

“Wait!”

The Black Robe Figure screamed, his voice raw with terror. His body was still airborne, weaponless, unbalanced. He saw the cold, merciless glint in Lu Qing’s eyes.

“Die!”

Too late.

Lu Qing’s fists became a blur. A storm of strikes rained down upon the Black Robe Figure’s body.

Pound! Pound! Pound!

The sound was relentless—like a drumbeat of death. In a single breath, Lu Qing struck countless times, each punch hammering into the man’s Xian Tian body, twisting it beyond recognition, freezing it mid-air in agony.

Thud.

After three breaths, Lu Qing finally pulled back, fists at his sides. The storm of punches ceased. The Black Robe Figure collapsed to the ground.

He was no longer human.

From the waist down, his entire body—arms, legs, torso—was twisted beyond repair. Not a single piece of flesh remained intact. Bones and organs were reduced to pulp, scattered and unrecognizable. His body lay limp, a broken sack of meat, unable to even lift his head.

Yet he lived.

The unyielding will of a Xian Tian Jing cultivator at the Small Achievement stage kept his spirit alive, even as his body lay in ruins.

But his eyes—once blazing with fury—now held only disbelief and terror.

How could he, a lifetime warrior, have fallen so easily to a mere boy?

And worse—how could such a terrifying, monstrous power exist? That kind of brutal, soul-shattering fist technique… he’d never seen anything like it in all his life.

Was this even a human?

In his mind, Lu Qing had become a demon.

“Such a pity,” Lu Qing said, standing over the broken figure, his voice calm. “I thought you’d last a few rounds. I wanted to refine my technique. But you didn’t even survive one strike. I must’ve overestimated you. A Xian Tian Small Achievement warrior… you’re far weaker than I imagined. Maybe I should’ve let Master spare your arm.”

Spurt!

The Black Robe Figure choked on blood, his soul wracked with despair.

“…What… are you…?”

He could barely speak. His voice was a whisper, transmitted only through the last flickers of his spirit soul power.

“Just a passerby,” Lu Qing replied, expression unreadable. “You wonder why I didn’t kill you?”

“Why?” The Black Robe Figure’s voice trembled.

Did he think I’d trade for my master’s freedom?

The thought struck him like lightning.

“Ah… yes,” he gasped, “I and my brother grew up together—like true brothers. If you take me, he’ll surely release your master!”

Even broken, his will to live burned fiercely. He knew of the ancient heretical inheritance he’d once possessed. As long as his spirit remained, all was possible. Even if his body was destroyed, his brother could one day return, use the Xue Hun Fan to restore him.

So long as there was a sliver of hope… he wouldn’t give up.

“You think your brother’s worth trading for?” Lu Qing sneered, looking down at the mangled corpse. “I kept you alive for one reason—so you could see what I’m about to show you. So you can die with your eyes open.”

He tossed a jade pendant onto the ground before the Black Robe Figure.

The man’s heart sank at the sight.

The jade…

That jade…

“Y-yes… that’s… it’s Mo Xuan’s personal jade… the one he wore every day,” Lu Qing said, voice as calm as ever. “Oh, and I forgot to mention—I killed him. Crushed his skull into his chest with a single kick. Very… painful.”

“It was you?!”

The Black Robe Figure’s head snapped toward him, his spirit screaming in agony. His eyes bulged, veins popping, face twisted into a snarl of pure hatred.

“You… monster! You killed my Mo Xuan! I’ll never forgive you!”

He screamed, his spirit surging with rage so intense it threatened to tear itself apart.

“Angry?” Lu Qing chuckled. “Of course. You humans are all the same—when you’re the ones doing the killing, you show no mercy. But when it’s done to you? Suddenly you’re furious, terrified. Pathetic. Like maggots crawling in the dirt.”

“I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you!”

The Black Robe Figure howled, his spirit burning with murderous intent, a true demon in spirit.

But Lu Qing didn’t move. He stood still, silent, as if waiting for something. Letting the man rage.

After more than ten breaths, Lu Qing’s expression shifted.

“Enough,” he said, turning to the snarling head. “Stop pretending. Your brother’s coming. Let’s see if he can save you.”

The Black Robe Figure’s scream cut off mid-sentence.

A voice of furious shock echoed through the Bloodlight Domain:

“Xian Tian Ling Yu! Dual-Element Sword Qi—Water and Fire?! How is this possible?!”

At once, the domain flared with light. A towering sword aura surged forth, crushing everything in its path. A crimson and white blade, glowing with the power of fire and ice, split the Bloodlight Domain in two.

The crimson haze faded, revealing the scene within.

The central street was in ruins.

Two figures stood face to face.

One held a blood-red banner. The other, a longsword.

Only the Hook-nosed Elder and Old Doctor could stand there.

But their appearances were unrecognizable.

Old Doctor’s face was smooth, his hair jet-black, radiating an icy, razor-sharp sword aura. His robes were pristine, untouched—his entire form young, vibrant, transformed into a man in his prime.

The Hook-nosed Elder was a wreck.

His clothes were tattered, hanging like rags. His body was riddled with wounds, bloodied and raw. He gasped for air, his hair matted, his eyes hollow. The once-proud, arrogant man was now a broken shell.

Even his Xue Hun Fan was shattered—broken in two, the banner half-destroyed.

His life force was near extinction.

“Brother!”

The Black Robe Figure’s spirit trembled, disbelief flooding his mind. How… how could even my brother… fall?

The Hook-nosed Elder sensed it. He turned, blinked, then let out a bitter, broken laugh.

“Brother… you too…? These two… they’re monsters.”

After a moment, he looked at Old Doctor.

“Sir… I admit it. You’ve mastered the complete Xian Tian Ling Yu. And you wield both water and fire Xian Tian Qi—fusing them in perfect harmony. This battle… I lost. I have no complaints.”

He was truly stunned.

To think such a being existed. A cultivator still only at Xian Tian Jing Small Achievement, yet capable of mastering a full Xian Tian Ling Yu domain—something only the greatest masters at Xian Tian Jing Great Achievement could achieve.

And not only that—he’d fused two opposing elemental forces, making them complement each other, amplifying their power.

Every detail defied belief. His entire understanding of martial cultivation shattered.

Old Doctor said nothing. He only stared, cold and silent.

To him, such monsters—those who treated life as trash, who tortured and killed without remorse—were beneath conversation.

The Hook-nosed Elder didn’t care. Victory belonged to the victor. He, the defeated, had no right to demand answers.

“Sir… one question, if you’ll allow it. Just so I may die with clarity,” he said, voice hoarse. “Who are you? Where did you come from? How did you know we were performing the Xue Hun Fan ritual?”

He couldn’t make sense of it.

A warrior of such caliber should be legendary. Yet no name matched him in the annals of Xian Tian Jing masters.

And why, of all places, in Yun Zhou? Why now—exactly at the moment the ritual was at its peak? The coincidence was too great.

But to his shock, Old Doctor didn’t answer.

“Why bother?” he said coldly. “The dead should not know too much. You practiced evil arts, slaughtered innocents. You deserve death. Accept it.”

With a flick of his wrist, a blade of light shot forth—clean, swift, and final.

The Hook-nosed Elder’s head separated from his body.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end